[2024 Lincang ] Travel Guide for Yulong Lake (Updated Nov)
Lakes
Address:
Xihebei Road (near the Second Hospital)
Opening times:
Open year round, 24/7Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
1-2 hours
Lincang: Looks Very Cultured
Lincang: Looks Very Cultured
Text/ Rongrong
Lincang, whether as a tourist spot or a transit point, I pondered for a long time.
As a tourist spot, it is naturally the "Wengding Primitive Tribe." However, it is indeed too far from the main route, and after a fire in 2021, is the "reconstructed ancient village" still worth staying?
After much deliberation, I gritted my teeth and gave up—shortening the itinerary, without the mindset to take risks.
Thus, the Three Museums Cultural Square, Sigangli Square, and Yulong Lake were added to the leisurely tour.
Seeing the "Lincang Cultural Center" sign, my husband laughed heartily, saying he wanted to take a photo to commemorate it, feeling "very cultured." He always prides himself on being a rough man, so this childish behavior was not surprising.
The Cultural Center, Library, and Museum, the "Three Museums" are concentrated, indeed providing better public cultural services. Accustomed to the simplicity and elegance of various local cultures, I was a bit unaccustomed to the strong modern sense of the three buildings in front of me. My son said, don't be deceived by appearances, you have to look deeper to judge.
Indeed, after all, it's newly built, and the modern style is normal. Moreover, the "Three Museums" have similar styles, so they don't seem isolated. For example, each building has similar longitudinal decorations on the top, perhaps related to lighting, further indicating the "trinity"?
It wasn't open hours. Perhaps due to the out-of-town visitors, the museum girl was very cute, not only allowing us to register and enter but also enthusiastically acting as a guide. She was quite happy to say that there was a calligraphy exhibition nearing its end, where we could see works by local masters.
What does it feel like to calmly accept "quality service"? It just felt that the people of Lincang were particularly friendly, truly "very cultured."
I didn't understand the calligraphy works, the fonts were unfamiliar, and I had to guess the content and even check Baidu. But some of the charm, rhythm, lines, brushstrokes, along with the overall framework and emotional expression, were barely discernible. The girl said it would have been better if we had come earlier, as there would have been someone to introduce the works, but unfortunately, she didn't understand much and couldn't remember much.
Thus, we were also fortunate to come into contact with "Gengma Dai Paper-cutting Intangible Cultural Heritage," "Jinshui Leak Printing Craft," "Buddhist Stories and Folk Legends," "Dai Embroidery Craft," and more. Especially the embroidered works, according to the girl, are: the world's scenery worn on the body. It turns out that folk culture is so close to nature? Is this another meaning of "the unity of heaven and man"?
There are many stories of Southern Buddhism, presented in various artistic forms. For example, Water Dripping Dedication, White Cow Princess, Golden Gecko, and so on. There are also various Buddhist banners, prayer flags, etc., which became rich and exciting through the girl's explanation.
Coming to a nearly floor-to-ceiling ancient embroidery piece, the girl apologized, saying it had just been collected from the folk, the damaged parts hadn't been repaired in time, and the content involved hadn't been verified, so she couldn't provide more information. This sincere and earnest attitude was very touching.
My husband said, just for this, Lincang is worth another visit.
With a good mood, we leisurely headed to Yulong Lake. Along the way, there were many tropical plants, such as palm trees, Persian dates, and flame trees in full bloom, and exotic kapok trees. I was amazed by the various swollen or tall and straight tree shapes, often circling the trees two or three times, while my husband took a shooting stick and crazily photographed the flowers and leaves. My son watched from a distance with a high-cold look of "you two have never seen the world."
Unknowingly, we arrived at the Wa Culture Square—oh my, another cultural lesson? Indeed, it looks very cultured.
The center of the square has a giant bull head pattern on the ground. The bull is the totem of the Wa people, a symbol of auspiciousness and sacredness. It reminded me of the street where the square is located, called Sigangli Avenue.
"Sigangli," a widely circulated creation story (oral) of the Wa people in Cangyuan, is the creation epic of the Wa people. In the Wa language, "Sigang" means stone cave or gourd, and "li" means coming out. It means: the stone cave and gourd gave birth to humans and all things in nature. It is the Wa ancestors' direct understanding of human birth, also reflecting the maternal worship of the Wa period.
The front of the square has a giant statue of Wa people drumming (wooden drum), with large combination reliefs on both sides, mainly featuring "Sigangli," integrating other Wa legends from regions like Ximeng and Lancang, introducing the origin, history, and culture of the Wa people.
The left relief mainly features stories of heaven and earth (Liji God creating the earth, Luan God opening the sky) and the creation of all things by gods, including "Toad Saving People," "Human and Bull Mating Giving Birth to Gourd," "All Ethnic Groups Originating from Sigang," and so on.
The right relief mainly features production and life scenes. For example, building houses, pounding rice and carrying water, cultivating tea trees, making wooden drums, bull sacrifices, headhunting blood sacrifices, and so on.
The scorching sun made it impossible to stop and read carefully, including the stone pillar reliefs at the entrance, only feeling the Wa culture rushing towards us.
Going further, turning left, Yulong Lake was right in front of us.
Blue sky, white clouds, buildings, green plants, including the water area, all couldn't be appreciated in time, as we saw on the island in the middle of the lake, egrets either strolling leisurely, perching on branches, or flapping their wings and flying, grabbing our attention.
There were also other famous or unknown birds, flying far and near, quickly returning to the forest, or boldly stopping on the lakeside railings, tilting their heads to look at the passing tourists.
—It is the only park I have been to so far, planned for birds and isolated from human intrusion, with a small island in the middle of the lake, not just one, but three or more—the lake is too vast to know if any were missed.
My husband said, a paradise for birds.
"Black swans," my son pointed and shouted. In family units, the black swans floated on the water, at ease. The existence of groups, a rare scale, should still be credited to the island in the middle of the lake—a livable place that can keep them.
Perhaps treated kindly by the citizens for a long time, the swans, besides playing in the water, could also come ashore in groups. How close were they? If you spread your palm, they would peck food from it, accurately identifying which two were adult swans and which were newly grown cygnets.
So cultured, raising black swans like poultry, my husband sighed, saying, "the concept of delineating territories for birds" is worth promoting nationwide!
There were food stalls around the park, mainly barbecue, and also local specialties. Strangely, there were a lot of chicken butts. Staring at them for a long time, I found it funny: how much do the people of Lincang love to eat them? The stall owner was very enthusiastic, actively introducing, saying, we call it "chicken beauty," would you like to try?
A little later, more local people came for a walk, and the chicken butts sold very well, right? It felt very down-to-earth. Wonderful!
🌟Travel Route
Day❶ Xiyi Village Scenic Area
You can also call it 'Sydney', yes, that Sydney, the location can be pinpointed, Sydney of Yunnan, a very niche resort village facing the Lancang River Bridge, where you can take a boat trip on the Lancang River, eat freshly caught Xinxiang River fish. Because it's off the beaten path, there are very few tourists, making it especially quiet, and accommodation is very cheap.
Waking up in the morning, pulling back the curtains, the river view greets your eyes. Although it's 2.5h away from Lincang city center, if you're looking for a secluded place to spend a weekend, it's highly recommended
Day❷ Lincang City Center
Yulong Lake ➖ Zhangga Buddha Temple ➖ Zisun Temple ➖ Taiping Street ➖ Taihua Temple Sanqing Palace ➖ Sigangli Pedestrian Street ➖ Renmin Road
This is the old city area route, easy to walk, and not tiring. If you get tired, it's very convenient to use a shared bike.
Day❸ Wanyao Village Scenic Area ➖ Iceland ➖ Shuangjiang Jingkang Village
This day's route is in the suburbs of Lincang, 25min from the city center to Wanyao Village, to see the dragon kilns from the Qing Dynasty Qianlong era, which are still in use. The entire village is engaged in kiln making and firing, and you can find some beautiful Wanyao here. Wanyao Village to Iceland is a 1h drive, to see the ancient tea trees of Iceland, the queen of the Pu'er tea world. Iceland to Shuangjiang is a 50min drive, the county with the longest name in the country, which has a traditional Dai village - Jingkang, a very comfortable, clean, and quiet village, worth a visit
🌟Off-season accommodation is plentiful and not expensive, it is recommended to find a place upon arrival, 150 can get you a very nice stay. Lincang·Yunnan Jingkang Yulong Lake Sanqing Palace
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Yulong Lake Park
and amusement park place to relax cultural notes fun theme park park Yulong Lake Park is located in Yulong Lake (210 meters west of Cangjiang Road), Linxiang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. This is the new area in the north of Lincang City, at the intersection of Xihe and Nanting River. Yulong Lake Park is a concentrated display area of the essence of natural and cultural landscapes in Lincang City, integrating the water landscape experience area of Nanting River, Xihe, and landscape lakes, and the high-quality urban core landscape area of Lincang City, highlighting the long-standing Wa culture and tea culture characteristics of Lincang City. The park is divided into six functional areas: 'Sigangli Square', 'Hotel Business Area', 'Xihe Scenic Area', 'Nanting River Scenic Area', 'Lake Heart Peninsula Area', and 'Central Water Body Area', and has become the first choice for Lincang citizens to relax and entertain after meals. A tower-shaped building, Shui Lock Pavilion, is built in the green park on the north side of Yulong Lake. The building is designed as a garden landscape, with a frame structure system. The main body of the building is six floors above ground, with a total height of 51.8 meters. It was completed on April 6, 2021. Inside, there are scenic spots, ancient costume experiences, and special foods. In ancient times, the Shui Lock Pavilion meant to lock the river water to prevent it from causing harm, and another meaning was to lock the wealth and prevent it from flowing out. The lake is about 1.3 kilometers around, making it an ideal place for fitness and leisure.
⏳Play time:
Free admission, play time 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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January in Lincang, time is given to 'spring'
Here is still Lincang City, Yunnan Province. Today's highest temperature; 19 degrees, lowest temperature; 4 degrees. Air quality; excellent. The sun is shining, the altitude; 1386.4 meters.
Lincang has Yulong Lake, Yulong Lake has black swans, white groups of egrets, and the lake has bright red koi.
Yulong Lake has a tower, also known as 'Lock Water Pavilion', the West River and Nanting River of Lincang pass by the 'Lock Water Pavilion' on the left and right, converging into one river.
The banks of the river are still gardens and walkways, several covered bridges on the river, swallows flying under the covered bridges, in the shallow part of the river, white egrets staring motionlessly at the river, ready to peck at the playful fish at any time.
Along the riverbank walkway, a crescent bay is drawn out, on the crescent bay is a Wa ethnic fortress, and a small stream passes through the fortress, stringing together Wa architecture, with small boats rowing in the stream, like an oriental water city.
A few dancers, in the park by the river, under the cherry blossom trees, in Wa ethnic costumes, a song 'Awa People Singing New Songs', evoking my memories of youth, decades have passed, Awa people are singing new songs again, praising the beautiful life.
Lincang; a small border city, clean and quiet.
Lincang; a city of many ethnic groups, a city where all ethnic groups are united and live in harmony!
Lincang; a beautiful city with unlimited future prospects!
Li Fuhai
2024.01.29. (Lincang City, Yunnan)